After
by magewriter
Summary: One of the many stories about what happens after Tales of Symphonia. The characters are entirely themselves, except maybe Sheena in the first chapter, and it begins one year after the end of the game.
1. Colloyd

After

By Magewriter

Chapter 1: Colloyd

Disclaimer: I don't own anything by Namco. If I did, there would be a second Tales of Symphonia, and maybe a prequel with Mithos, Yuan, Martel, and Kratos as the main characters.

The other night, I had a dream where I was Colette and I married Lloyd. I got really freaked out, but I decided to write a story. Isn't it cool how everyone except for Kratos and Raine has someone to be in a relationship with? I mean, even Regal has Presea, who wants to help him avenge her sister. And of course there's the pairings: Gesea, Colloyd, and Sheelos. I'm not a Kraine person.

Colette wrung out her hair for what seemed like the millionth time. That was the problem with having long hair: it never seemed to dry.

"You want me to call Sylph or Ifreet or someone?" Sheena joked. She and Raine were helping Colette get ready. She was going to marry Lloyd.

"No, it's okay Sheena. It'll dry eventually."

"Uh… that was a joke."

"Oh."

"Okay, well, do you want to see the absolutely fabulous wedding dress I made?"

"Sure!"

"Okay." Sheena pulled from the bag she'd been carrying a beautiful white dress. It was trimmed with purple and included long gloves. She also took out a veil with white flowers around it.

"Oh, Sheena! It's beautiful!"

"It's about the same white as your shoes, and the purple matches your Cruxis crystal. I thought you'd like it."

"I love it!"

"Okay, then let's put your hair up in a towel and you can try it on. I'll make all the final adjustments and tomorrow you'll wear it to your wedding."

"Okay!" Colette quickly wrapped a towel around her long, damp hair. Sheena unbuttoned the back of the dress and Colette stepped into it. Then she put on the gloves. Sheena took a big, purplish-gray satin ribbon out of her bag and tied it around Colette's waist.

"Everyone in Mizuho wears these big ribbons around their waists. The women have thicker ones, like mine. The men have thinner ones, more like sashes. I thought this would personalize the dress a little more."

"It's wonderful, Sheena!" Colette was overwhelmed by everything. Had it seriously been a whole five months since she had started planning their wedding? She was lucky that she had good friends to help her. She wondered what Lloyd was going to wear. His old formal outfit from Tethe'alla, which used to be a world but was now a continent, looked silly. She had never understood it.

"Come look at yourself in the mirror. I think it really looks good with your Cruxis crystal. I thought maybe we could find a gold bracelet to go with your key crest…"

"Sheena, stop fussing. It's better than I could ever have imagined."

"So? You never expect much from anyone. Tomorrow's a really special day for you. I mean, you only get married once in your entire life. You might as well make it special." Sheena had placed pins in certain parts of the dress, specifically the bust, shoulders, and stomach, to make sure it fit Colette. She untied the ribbon and rearranged the pins. She made every part of the dress fit Colette. Then she went to Colette's room and pulled the chair into the bathroom. She took up the hem. The band of purple was lower on the dress now, but it looked intentional.

"Okay, now will you help me get out of the dress? I need to dry my hair some more."

"What is it with you and drying your hair? You might as well just admit that it's not going to be dry for another few hours."

"Yeah, but I need to comb it so it isn't too tangled."

"Or you could braid it. If you braided it really loosely, it wouldn't get much worse than it is."

"I do both. My hair's so difficult."

"Yeah, mine is too. C'mon, I'll brush yours for you."

"Okay, thank you, Sheena."

Sheena began to brush Colette's hair, carefully so as not to snap the delicate threads.

"Actually, how do you want your hair to be tomorrow? I can do most styles."

"Um… I dunno."

"I think your hair would be nice wavy. I might end up putting all of it up, but how about I make a bunch of little braids as insurance?"

"Sure!"

"Okay. Raine, will you help me?"

"Sure."

"Not too small, about this much hair. That'll make it really wavy. If you don't like anything we're doing, Colette, just tell us."

"No! I love everything!"

"I hoped so. I'll sew up the sides and the hem tonight. It won't take too long. Maybe I'll even do a little embroidery."

"You make yourself sound so feminine!"

"No, I just want my friend to have a fantastic wedding."

"I'll do the same for you when you get married."

"Uh… you probably wouldn't understand the Mizuho fashions."

"I've been there before."

"Yeah, but you've never been to a wedding there."

"Okay. What color do you make your wedding dresses there?"

"Actually, it's not even the kind of dress that you're thinking of. It's kind of like a robe with really wide sleeves… I'll draw one for you later. It's called a kimono. I have one made of silk, and I want to wear it. Maybe you could help me with my hair."

"Oh… okay."

"And I'll get Presea to help me with my obi – that's the special sash – because she's the strongest of us."

Why? Does the knot have to be really tight?"

"No, the obi's supposed to be really tight. That's why I try to avoid special occasions. You know those corsets the stuck-up Tethe'allan noble girls wear to make themselves seem even thinner than they already are?"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. That's how tight it's supposed to be."

"Ow."

"Yeah. I try to avoid formal events because of that reason. Your braids are done."

"Oh! Thanks, you two! I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Well, what are friends for?"

Colette smiled.

"I think," Raine said, "I saw some golden bracelets in a shop in Meltokio."

"Really? Sheena, can we go there?"

"Sure. I mean, it's your wedding. I only suggested it. And yeah, there's a jewelry shop there. They sell hair stuff there, too. I don't think a Mizuho style would really work for Colette. It's too bad; I have some chopsticks that would look great with that dress."

"Chop… sticks? Aren't those for eating?"

"Yeah, but sometimes people use them in their hair, too. It's really pretty, actually."

"Uh… Okay, then. I don't think that would look good on me."

"To Meltokio it is, then. Actually, I know a thrift store in the slums there where you can get just about anything. Maybe we should go there. It'll be cheaper."

"What's a thrift store?"

"It's a store with all sorts of odds and ends for practically nothing. Usually, the stuff there isn't that good, but sometimes there's some nice stuff there. It's worth a try."

"Okay! What are we waiting for?"

They boarded the rheairds and flew across the world to Meltokio, where they went to the slums and the little thrift store there.

They looked through everything. Eventually, Raine found a set of delicate golden bracelets.

"Ooh! They're so pretty! Let's get them!"

Sheena found them then.

"Look at what I found! A golden hair band! Don't you think this would look great on you, Colette? I mean, even if we don't use it, it's not selling for much anyway."

"Ooh! Yeah, let's get it!"

"And I found these purple glass beads. I think they might look good with something, so I'm getting them too. Heck, if I can't find a nice place for them on your dress, I'll probably just do something with my ribbon."

"Okay."

They paid for everything and flew back to Iselia. Colette's hair was dry enough to try on the dress again. This time, they looked at the accessories they had bought.

.-..-..-.

Later, all the girls were sitting in Colette's room. Sheena was sewing, Raine was reading, Presea was carving wood, and Colette was thinking.

"Sheena?"

"Yeah?"

"If… Would it be too late to get my ears pierced?"

"No. Why? Do you want them pierced?"

"Um… Do you know if it hurts?"

"Well, it's putting a piece of metal through your ear. If you consider that, then it hardly hurts at all. I have a friend who got hers pierced, and she said it didn't really hurt too much except for an initial sting."

"Oh. Do you know how long it hurts after that?"

"She said it was just sort of a dull ache, nothing really painful."

"Oh. Do you think I'd look good with pierced ears?"

"Sure. Depends on the earrings you got."

"What kind do you think I should get?"

"Gold. That's always safe. Almost no one's allergic to gold. Plus, it would look good with your hair."

"And my key crest."

Raine and Presea looked at each other like, "why the heck are they talking about this?" as Colette and Sheena continued their conversation.

"Yeah. So, do you want to do that in the morning?"

"Sure. I mean, why not?"

"Okay. We'll have to fly to Meltokio again, though. If you buy the earrings, the jewelry shop will do it for free, since it's promotional."

"If I get a gemstone, what color do you think I should get?"

"Probably red. That would go with your key crest, which would be good since you aren't supposed to take it out for a few months. Or a blue one, which would go with your eyes and your clothes. Maybe even purple, which would match your key crest _and_ your clothes."

"Okay. I'll look at them tomorrow."

"Wait 'till Lloyd sees you. I bet he'll be really surprised."

"Yeah."

"Well, you should sleep. I'm almost done with your dress. Lookit! Isn't it nice?"

"It's great, Sheena!"

"You've been saying that all day."

"That's because it is!"

Presea talked in her odd, neutral voice. "I'm done. Do you like it?"

"Oh! It's so pretty, Presea! It really looks like a rose! Who's it for?"

"Well, Sheena was saying something about hair sticks, so I thought I'd make something…"

"Wow!" (Sheena now) "They look like they came from Mizuho! Are you going to paint them?"

"No. I made them to look good with the grain of the wood. I like them like that."

"Do you want me to do your hair with them tomorrow?"

"Do you think it would look good on me?"

"Yeah. Well, actually, it depends on what you're wearing. You have that pink dress, right?"

"Yeah."

"It'll go great."

"Okay. I'll do your hair tomorrow."

"Thank you."

Sheena went back to her sewing.

"Okay, Colette, try it on again."

"Again?"

"Yeah. I need to make sure I did it right."

"Okay…"

Sheena helped her into the dress, which fit perfectly.

"Good, I don't have to prick myself anymore. Let's all get some sleep."

They had a great sleepover. Colette had a hard time sleeping, but a good time being able too. It had been an entire year since their journey had ended, but she was still thankful that she could taste, feel, speak, and sleep. Most of all, she was happy to be in complete control of her body. She still tripped, of course, but it was always her fault, which she was thankful for.

Tomorrow, she would marry Lloyd. He hadn't understood for so long that she loved him. He had been so oblivious that, eventually, Zelos had had to explain it to him. But, he really did love her. Maybe he just hadn't noticed before. Now, they were finally going to get married. They had each finished school over that year, Lloyd being behind because he slept in class and Colette being behind because she had been educated by the clergy for two years in different subjects from the normal class.

Eventually, she drifted into sleep. She had a dream where she was going to get her ears pierced, but then she had to fight Remiel. Then she played red light/green light in Meltokio. After that, she woke up.

.-..-..-.

Colette was having a hard time choosing which earrings she wanted. She was talking to the girl who was going to pierce her ears.

"So, which ones do you want?"

"Um… I don't know. Which ones do you think I should get?"

"It's your choice!"

"Yeah, but it's a really hard choice!"

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"Yeah, but I do. I just don't know which earrings I want."

"Uh, okay. Do you want little ones like this, or ones that drop down like this, or hoops like this?"

"Um… I don't think I want hoops…"

"So, studs or dangles? Usually studs are good when you're getting your ears pierced, because they're not very heavy."

"Studs then."

"What kind of influence do you want? Floral, or sparkly, or metallic… We have those little stylized knots."

"Uh… I think I want a gem."

"We have sort of a reddish purple, not too dark, that would go with your necklace really nicely. And it would go with that blue."

"Okay. Could I see it?"

"Sure. It would go with your eyes, too."

She showed Colette a stud earring with a little gem, like a blue-tinted ruby, set in decorative gold. Colette recognized the stone.

"Oh! That's a piece of purple quartz!"

"Is it? I thought it was amethyst of some type. I guess if it's quartz it won't sell for as much…"

"No, that's good. I have a bracelet I made with a bunch of different kinds of quartz."

"Oh… Well, would you like to look at it in a mirror?"

"Sure." They went to the little mirror, and Colette held the earring up to her ear. There was a little piece of blue quartz above it, which would neutralize the lightning in the purple quartz.

"Wow! It looks great!"

"Is that what you want?"

"Sheena? Raine? Presea? Do you like it?"

"Yeah! It looks great!"

"It will look good with most of your things."

"I still don't understand why you'd want to do this, but it does look good on you. I remember I liked jewelry when I was seventeen."

The shop girl gave Presea a weird look, because Presea still looked 13. She turned back to Colette and said, "It'll be 56 gald."

They paid her for the earrings, and she got a piece of wire and some paint.

"Where do you want your earrings?"

"About in the middle of my ear lobes. Maybe a little towards the bottom."

The girl marked two dots on Colette's ears. "Does that look good?"

Sheena judged that it was good, so the girl got an ink pot, washed the paint off Colette's ears, and made two dots of ink. Colette closed her eyes so that she couldn't see the girl putting the alcohol on the needle, or the needle into the candle flame, or more alcohol on the needle. She did open her eyes, however, when she felt the needle piercing through her ear. Then the girl dipped the earring in the alcohol, put it through Colette's ear and fastened it. She repeated the process.

"Okay. It's done. Look at yourself."

Colette saw her reflection, which was more sparkly than it had been before.

"How long will it hurt?"

"Well, it only stings like that for about a minute. It hurts less after that. Then in a couple hours you won't really feel it. You have to treat your ears with this though – both sides. Dip some cotton in it, and put it on your ears.

-Obtained Rubbing Alcohol-

"If you don't use it, your ears could get infected. That sterilizes them. Oh, and you can't go swimming for at least 2 days. Any questions?"

"How long is it before I can change them?"

"You should probably wait about six months. They should be healed enough by then to change them. But dip the earrings into the alcohol first. After a few years, you won't have to be so careful, but you should be until they're fully healed. I just made a hole in your ears, so they're really fragile."

"Okay. Thank you!"

"You're welcome. Thanks for coming her to get your ears pierced!"

They rode the rheairds back to Iselia, where Sheena and Raine undid all of Colette's braids and brushed her hair, which was now wavy, and Sheena produced a bottle of hair gel.

"I stole it from Zelos. He has tons of this gunk."

She did a style on Colette where she made two French braids (what do they call them in their world?) on the sides, which turned into braids, connected in the middle, and dropped down as one braid to end in the golden band that Sheena had found in the thrift store. This left most of Colette's wavy hair hanging down.

"Do you like it, Colette?"

"Yeah! It looks great!"

"Stop saying that."

"But it does! It looks extra-shiny when it's wavy!"

"Whatever you say. Presea, do you want me to do your hair now?"

"Sure."

Colette laughed, watching Presea's face contort as Sheena brushed her hair, knowing that she had looked just like that. Sheena did Presea's hair in a bun using the rose-topped hair sticks that Presea had made the might before. For Raine, she combed the bangs down to the side and fixed them with hair gel. She took a small lock from the other side of Raine's face and braided it, putting a little metal charm at the end.

"Sheena, who's going to do your hair?"

"I dunno. I have some metal hair sticks…"

"Oh. That sounds really pretty."

"Yeah, they are."

Sheena was undoing the ribbon in her hair. When it came undone, her hair went down just above her elbow.

"Ooh! I can almost see that style! What kind of metal is it?"

"One's mythril and gold, and one's silver and copper. They're really pretty. They're in my box with my kimono."

"Oh! We all have to get into our dresses!"

"I'll help you with yours. Presea? Will you help me with mine later?"

"I'll do what I can."

"Okay. Colette, I sewed some of those purple beads on your dress after you were asleep. It still looks great."

For the third time, Colette stepped into her white dress. Sheena did the gray ribbon and Colette put on the gloves. Presea's dress was pastel pink, to match her hair, and the sleeves widened at the elbow. It looked sophisticated for a thirteen-year-old, but then, Presea was really twenty-nine.

Raine's dress was blue, with short sleeves and shimmery fabric. She had a ribbon and a crystal pendant for a necklace.

Sheena opened her box. She had three layers: one light cotton layer, a slightly heavier cotton layer, and a silk layer. The silk kimono was purple with pictures on it. The bottom had silver embroidery on it.

"Wow, Sheena! I never thought anyone would make a dress that beautiful!"

"Each kimono is a work of art – no two are the same. They can take over a year to make."

"Wow! And you have a sash for each layer, too."

"Yeah, except this outer layer. Presea, if I teach you the knot, will you tie my obi?"

"Why me?"

"Well, it's supposed to be really tight. Since you're the strongest of us, I figured you'd do the best job."

"Certainly."

Sheena showed Presea the knot, which Presea did easily, then Presea stood on a stool behind Sheena, braced her foot on Sheena's back, and pulled the knot as tightly as she could.

"Yeah… that's about good…"

Presea tied the knot, which looked really elaborate, with her foot still on Sheena's back.

"Okay… I can't really breathe right now, but that's okay."

"Should I loosen it?"

"No, it's supposed to go like this."

"Okay…"

"Raine, will you do my hair?"

"Sure."

Presea took two blue chopsticks from Sheena's box as Raine brushed Sheena's hair. Then she did it up with the sticks.

"Perfect. You look great, Sheena."

Sheena took her grass sandals from her box and stepped into them.

"Will one of you do my makeup, please? Not like in Mizuho – the people of Iselia would never understand that – but maybe a little pink on my cheeks or some red on my lips or something."

Raine did her makeup, then Colette's. Presea's body was young enough that she didn't need any. Then Sheena did Raine's makeup.

"Okay. I think we're ready. Colette, don't forget your gloves."

"Oh! I almost forgot! Thank you, Sheena!"

"No problem!"

"Oh, and will someone look out for Lloyd for me? In Sylvarant, it's supposed to be bad luck for the bride and groom to see each other on the wedding day before the ceremony."

"Okay. Where do you think Zelos is?"

"Probably getting ready."

"Yeah, but where?"

"Um… Maybe at Dirk's house."

"Okay. Do you want to see the look on his face when I give him back his hair gel?"

"You mean, he didn't know you took it?"

"Of course not! That's the funny part!"

"You can go by yourself. Lloyd's probably going to be there…"

"I'll make sure he doesn't look at you. It'll be funny."

"Okay…"

They rode the rheairds to Dirk's house, not wanting to ruin their clothes or hair by fighting, and Presea went first to make sure that Lloyd was out on the balcony when they went up to his room.

"Hey, Zelos!"

Sheena tossed the bottle of hair gel to Zelos, who started whining in that way that only Zelos can whine.

"Sheena! I was looking for this earlier!"

"Yeah, well you have about twenty bottles of that junk, and I needed it for Raine's hair."

"Yeah, but do you know how hard it is to open a new bottle?"

"No, but I'm guessing you're going to tell us."

"It's like they don't want you to be able to open it! One day, it was winter so I was completely frizzy, and I only had one bottle left, and I couldn't open it!"

"The end of the world, was it?"

"My hunnies made fun of me for weeks!"

"Your hunnies are pathetic little girls who don't understand how 2 can be the same as 10."

"Wha?"

"Binary."

"Oh, that lame joke about the 10 kinds of people."

"Yeah."

"No, those are just my palace hunnies. My hunnies at the Royal University were smart."

"Still pathetic, though."

"No, they aren't. I wanted them to act like that, and they loved me enough that they wanted to, too."

"Zelos, they would also have acted like that if you'd drugged them."

"Yeah, but I didn't. That's why I'm cool."

"Why do I even try to argue with you anymore?"

"I dunno. I like it when you argue with me. It's funny."

"I'd hit you if I weren't dressed up like this. I don't want blood on my knuckles for Colette and Lloyd's wedding."

"You should leave. We're all getting ready."

"Okay. I just wanted to see the look on your face when I gave you back your hair gel."

"You're mean."

"Just to you, Zelos."

The girls left, Lloyd went back inside, and Colette yelled, "Bye, Lloyd!" as they left, hoping that Lloyd would hear.

.-..-..-.

It was happening. She was about to walk down the aisle with her father, and then it would all happen… all of it. Her father grabbed her hand, and they walked slowly down the church aisle. About halfway down, Colette tripped on the hem of her dress. She hadn't meant to. She stood back up and blushed heavily all the way up to the altar, where Lloyd whispered, "It's okay." The pastor read the lines, they made their vows, and they kissed. Then they rand down the aisle, and she didn't trip, and they rode Noishe back to Iselia, where they had the after-party. Zelos got slightly drunk after accomplishing his goal of dancing with every girl at the party, and he tried to kiss Sheena, who fended him off with her Vajra card. Regal danced with Presea, which was really funny because he was so much taller than her, but he was good enough that it looked okay.

Kratos had come back from Derris-Kharlan. Colette hugged him, because he was her father-in-law now. He was sort of weirded out by the hug, but he acted normally.

After Regal, Genis danced with Presea, but they Genis didn't talk much, his hands were clammy, and he was blushing. Finally, Presea asked, "Genis, why are you nervous? Do you… like me?"

"Um… what makes you say that?"

"Well, whenever you talk to me, you always seem nervous. It's like when I was twelve and I had a friend who liked this girl, and he was always afraid that he'd say the wrong thing to her."

"Uh…"

"It's okay if you like me."

"I do."

"I can't say that I return your feelings, but we're friends anyway."

"Okay…"

They danced the rest of the dance in awkward silence. Presea felt bad for not feeling the same way for Genis, and Genis felt embarrassed for making Presea feel bad.

Soon, the dance was over. Slightly-drunk Zelos picked Presea up and carried her away from Genis. She yelled at him to put her down, but he went into a rant about how he was closer to her age. Eventually, she dug her nails into the base of his shoulder. He dropped her, and she ran away from him towards Sheena.

"Nice one, Presea! High five!"

"That was mean of him."

"Oh! Look! Regal's going towards him! This is going to be hilarious!"

They watched, laughing out loud as Regal got mad at Zelos, Zelos shrank away from Regal, and Regal lectured Zelos on being kind to women. It was only funny because it was Zelos.

Presea ran up to Genis. "Did you see that?"

"See what?"

"Well, I hurt Zelos to get him to drop me, and Regal saw so he came over and talked to Zelos about being nice to girls."

"I take it he didn't do it nicely."

"No. Sheena and I were laughing so hard! I wish you'd been watching!"

Genis blushed.

Word had gotten around that Regal was good at dancing, so he had no shortage of partners. Colette danced mostly with Lloyd, but also with her father, Kratos, Regal, Genis, some of her old friends, even Zelos at one point. But that was when he was drunk, and he started making rude comments so she stopped dancing with him.

Because most of the guests were from Iselia, and the rest had been on the journey, very few people danced with Raine. Kratos did, because he understood some of the things she wanted to talk about. She also danced with Genis and Regal, and Zelos, who she talked about math with. Raine was Raine, and no one could change that.

Colette danced with Dirk, too. He didn't dance much, but she was his daughter-in-law now, and she wanted to dance with him, so he figured it couldn't hurt. Colette now had three dads. Four, if she counted Remiel, who wasn't really, but they had thought he was at one point. That almost counted.

.-..-..-.

"So, Lloyd, now that the party's over, where do you want to live?"

"I dunno. Do you want to live in Sylvarant or Tethe'alla?"

"Um… Tethe'alla."

"Okay. What should we do for a living?"

"Well… you make really pretty figurines and jewelry and stuff."

"Okay. So, we can live anywhere."

"How about in Sybak? Then we'll be in between everyone."

"Yeah, but everyone's so smart there. We'd never fit in."

"Okay… then how about Meltokio?"

"Sure."

"Okay. Let's look for a place there tomorrow."

"Okay."

"Oh! I have to put some rubbing alcohol on my ears!"

"Why?"

"Didn't you notice my ears were pierced?"

"Uh… No?"

"You're so oblivious, Lloyd."

"Hehe… Can I see your earrings?"

"Sure! See? Lookit!"

"Hey, is that purple quartz?"

"Yeah, but there's blue quartz next to it, so it's okay."

"Okay."

"Pretty, aren't they?"

"Uh… yeah, sure."

"You don't like them?"

"I just don't really care about jewelry."

"I can't believe you danced with me almost all night and you didn't notice my ears were pierced."

"That's not the sort of thing I usually notice."

"Do you like my bracelet?"

"You were – oh. Yeah, it's pretty."

"You didn't notice that, either."

"Nope."

"Well, did you like the wedding?"

"Yeah, it was cool."

"…Except that I tripped."

"Yeah, but I don't care. Whenever you trip, something good happens. Maybe it's lucky."

"Hehe. Yeah!"

.-..-..-.

In the morning, they rode their rheairds to Meltokio and found a house for 52,500 gald. They had to borrow from their friends and fight some monsters to get it, but it was the most reasonable house in Meltokio.

"Okay, so now we're married, we have a house with furnishings… what do we want to do next?"

"Let's see what we can do to redecorate it. I don't know what you see in this place, but we might as well try to do something."

They went to a place that sold rugs and carpeting, the kind of carpeting that could be cut into pieces and given as samples for indecisive people. They got a couple handfuls of carpet samples, and went around Tethe'alla to other stores to get the same kinds of stuff. Eventually, Colette said that they had enough. Lloyd still had no idea what she was trying to do, but he had an idea.

They rolled up the hideous rugs that had come with the house and bought a big tub of glue. They painted the floor with the glue in big sections and fitted the carpet scraps together to make a big, multi-colored carpet. It took them a few hours, but when they were done, Colette was ecstatic.

"Oh, Lloyd! Look how pretty it is!"

"It's kind of… tacky."

"Yeah, but in a pretty way."

They hung up the curtains they had gotten from their wedding and went to see Zelos. He invited them to stay for dinner, so they did. They had gotten into a discussion about angel wings somehow, so all three of them showed their wings. That was the biggest event of the night. Then Lloyd and Colette went back to their house and fell asleep.

Well? Comments? I can take flames. My dream creeped me out, but I told my family about it and my mom said that it couldn't be Colette's wedding if she didn't trip at least once. I feel sorry for any kid she has. It's going to have been dropped on its head before she's even had it. Maybe she just won't stand up much.


	2. Regal and Presea

Chapter 2: Regal and Presea

Disclaimer: I don't own any stuff my Namco. Do I really have to put this in every chapter? I mean, people ought to understand that after the first chapter.

Well, I can't see them together, but they are closely linked through Alicia. So…

After his return to the Lezarano Company, Regal had been accepted as the president. Presea was almost thirty now, and he'd invited her to the Company for her birthday in two days. It had been a month since Colette and Lloyd had been married. He feared for the intelligence of any child they might have, but he was glad they were happy.

Sitting in his office, he hadn't expected to have any visitors that day, but when he was about to go have lunch, a small thirteen-year-old girl with pink hair stepped into the room. "Hello, Regal," she said. She had a soft voice, low for someone her age. She wore a dark blue dress and interesting boots, and her blue eyes showed that she was much older than her body would suggest.

"Hello, Presea. I hadn't expected to see you here today."

"I thought I'd come by early. If I'm inconveniencing you…"

"No, not at all. Do you want to come have lunch with me?"

"Certainly."

They talked over lunch. Presea was growing quickly. She had a lot of years to catch up on. She was over twice her physical age, which had to be frustrating. Regal paid no attention to that, though, because he knew that she was only four year younger than him.

"How is your life back here at Lezarano?"

"The same as it used to be. There are endless papers, some social events, and the beach to walk on at night."

"Would you take me to the beach tonight? I've heard that the sunset's really pretty."

"Sure. Is there anything else you'd like to do here?"

"What is there to do?"

"There's the casino, the amusement park, the sky terraces… We also have a library, but it's mostly just reference books."

"I think I just want to go to the beach."

"Does your old swim suit still fit?"

"Probably not."

"There's also a company store where you can buy that sort of thing."

"Oh. Would you show me?"

"Sure."

She tried on two swim suits before she found one that fit, and she bought it with money that she'd gotten from carving wood and killing monsters. Then she went to the room that Regal had gotten for her and changed into it, then they went to the beach.

She sat in the freezing-cold water, humming to herself and thinking. She swam around some, then after awhile it got dark and the ocean got even colder. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she got out.

"Thank you, Regal."

"For what? I only took you to the beach."

"Yeah, but you also got me a room."

"You could have done that yourself if you'd wanted to."

"No, I couldn't have. I'm too young. People don't see how old I am when they look at me. Kate says I might grow to look my age, though."

"Or maybe you're only growing fast because that's what twelve-year-olds do."

"I think… I think I look a little closer to fourteen than thirteen, though. And… That's a good thing, right?"

"Yes. Then people will take you more seriously."

"Regal… Are you hiding something from me? You seem… different."

"I just haven't taken a vacation all year. George was a good president, but… well, stuff piles up. He knew that I would come back someday, so he left some matters for me. I haven't had much spare time."

"So you feel guilty for ignoring your duty."

"Yes."

"It's okay. You need a day or two off."

"I know. I still can't shake that feeling, though."

"You'll catch up. Alicia knew that, too, when she told you that she didn't want you to feel guilty for her."

"Yes… She always said that I took work too seriously."

"She also always said that work was no fun, and therefore not worth doing."

"But she did it anyway. She didn't complain as much, actually, after she got to know me."

"Wow… Alicia not complaining about work. That's a miracle."

"Heh… I guess."

They passed the time with idle talk, but when the sunset was over they went to bed. "After all," Regal said, "People with teenaged bodies need the most sleep."

Presea laughed at that. Usually, people said "teenagers." But he couldn't call her a teenager, could he?

.-..-..-.

Two days later, the entire group was there. Colette, Lloyd, Genis, Raine, Zelos, Sheena, and Kratos had all come to Altamira to celebrate Presea's thirtieth birthday. Kratos, although he hadn't been in their group when they learned about Presea's Cruxis Crystal, knew as much as everyone else because he was a Cruxis Angel. He also understood Presea's feelings because he was eternally twenty-eight. They became friends, actually, and as the party continued late into the night, Colette, Kratos, and Presea had gotten into a group because they were the ones who could relate the most to each other.

Another round of music started. Genis asked Presea to dance, just as he had every other dance. Presea smiled at him, but she felt… guilty that she didn't return his feelings. She also danced with Regal, Zelos, Lloyd, and Kratos, but she wanted Genis to be happy even though she didn't like him in the same way that he liked her.

"Genis?"

"Yeah, Presea?" He said her name a lot.

"How do you feel… knowing that I'm thirty today?"

"You're still the same Presea that I went on the journey with. When I found out about it, I was surprised, but…"

"Genis, I'm… sorry I don't like you the same way you like me."

"It's okay. It's not like you can control it."

"Yeah, but… you're my friend. I want you to be happy."

"I'd be unhappy if you lied and said you did like me that way."

"Okay…"

"Presea? Why did you bring that up now?"

"I don't know. I guess… I guess I hadn't really thought about it until now."

"Oh…" Genis blushed a little deeper than he already was. Presea smiled at him.

Finally, it was time to go to bed. Everyone said good night to everyone else, and they retired to their rooms in the Altamira Hotel.

.-..-..-.

In the morning, Presea went back to Ozette to help with the rebuilding project. Sheena went back to Mizuho, Raine and Genis to Iselia, Colette, Lloyd, and Zelos to Meltokyo, and Kratos to… wherever Kratos lived. Regal stayed in Altamira.

Presea had lighter axes for woodcutting, which was her main job in the rebuilding project, but she still practiced with her heavier battleaxes when she had the time.

The problem with Genis was… there was no problem with him. He was an intelligent twelve-year-old half-elf boy who lived in a little village in Sylvarant with his sister. He had saved everyone countless times. There was no problem with him. But Presea didn't feel particularly drawn to him, as he was to her. She felt so bad for him. But he would feel bad if she pretended to have a crush on him. How could she make both of them happy? They were both unhappy now. Maybe the answer would come.

Particularly short because I have no clue what to write for Presea. You don't see much of her character in the game, because she's only there for part of it and for part of that time she doesn't act like herself. We know that Genis likes her, that she probably doesn't like him the same way, that she's really smart, and that she's a 28-year-old stuck in a 12-year-old body, which has to be frustrating. Reviews?


	3. Sheelos

Chapter 3: Sheelos

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia or Scrabble, and I don't even know why those people would have Scrabble, but it's a fun game anyway. Oh, and I don't own any Dilbert jokes.

…it has to happen sooner or later. Zelos is attracted to Sheena because she's a puzzle that he can't solve, and Sheena is the only one who can control Zelos, which she probably thinks would be a great service to the world. Plus, I think she likes him, even if she does get mad at him sometimes.

Sheena made a trip to Meltokio every once-in-awhile. She would buy supplies that she couldn't get anywhere else, or fight in the coliseum, or both. Sometimes she talked to Lloyd and Colette, but usually they weren't home.

On one of her trips to Meltokio, she saw Zelos. He was looking at a shirt in a shop window.

Unfortunately, he saw her.

"Hey, Sheena! I feel like you've been avoiding me all these months."

"No, really? What gave you that idea? Was it the fact that we've only seen each other three times in over a year, or that I always pretend not to see you?"

"Well, you beating up my cutest hunny was sort of a clue."

"She had it coming to her. God, that voice… It's so annoying!"

"She can get kind of… edgy, but she means well."

"You don't get it, do you? You're completely ignoring the fact that I think you're complete slime."

"I know it, Sheena. I just don't want to admit it to myself."

One of his hunnies ran up to him. "Oh! Master Zelos! Would you like to go to dinner with me tonight?"

"No, I'm going out with Sheena here."

…The problem being, he hadn't told Sheena. "What! Zelos, you didn't –"

"Maybe some other time then, Zelos?"

"Yeah."

She walked away, smiling contentedly, almost idiotically. Zelos turned back to Sheena. "Why not? It'll be fun, just you and me! You can wear your old formal outfit!"

"I wouldn't wear that thing if you paid me."

"But I was planning to take you to a really nice restaurant. No one there will mind!"

"Yeah, but I will! Any girl who chooses to dress like that is a disgrace to women everywhere. Plus, I already have a nice formal dress."

"That thing looked uncomfortable. And hot. Way too hot for summer."

"Actually, I made a summer dress out of Magical Cloth. It looks pretty good on me."

"Then it's settled. We'll go to dinner together tonight!"

"Uh… okay. Nothing happens afterwards though, right?"

"Of course not. Not like you mean, anyway."

"Why, what are you trying to suggest?"

"Well, we might play some cards, or have Lloyd and Colette over…"

"Oh. That would be fine. Just nothing like you'd do with your hunnies."

"Of course not! I can't even get a date with you without making you come with me. I'd never be able to get you to do that."

"Okay."

It was actually a nice place. The guy who seated them looked surprised when he saw Sheena, but he did his job. When Sheena said that to Zelos, he laughed.

"I usually bring my hunnies here. You're wearing a normal dress, and you don't look happy to be with me, so of course you're getting weird looks!"

Sheena glared at him.

After the meal, they went back to Zelos' house and hung out. After awhile, there was a knock on the door.

Zelos turned to Sheena. "Now you'll see my wonderful planning skills."

The butler let Lloyd and Colette in as Zelos ran down the stairs. Sheena was still up on the top level, but she ran down when she saw them.

"Hey, guys! Sheena's here!"

Colette looked surprised. "Sheena? Really? I didn't think you liked Zelos, Sheena."

"I don't! He tricked me into it!"

"But you seem to be getting along just fine."

"Yeah, but if he pulls anything funny on me, I'm gonna stuff him into that vase over there."

Zelos spoke then, absolutely shocked. Or perhaps, just pretending to be. "What? You agreed to come over here! I thought we were friends!"

"I thought you knew me better than that. …And we are, kind of, to a point."

Zelos smiled. So did Colette.

"So, my little angel, what've you been up to?"

"Well… sometimes I polish the figurines… and I do all sorts of stuff. And Lloyd carves figurines, and does metalwork, and all sorts of stuff."

"Oh. Cool. I've gotta go up and get something, but I'll be right back, 'k?"

"Okay."

Zelos went up to his room, where he dug around in his desk for a certain ring. Finally he found it, pocketed it, checked that his hair gel was still in the same place on his desk (he remembered that Sheena had taken it from him before), and went back downstairs.

"Hey, Sheena! I forgot to give you this back after the journey! I found it a couple days ago, and I figured that you'd have a better use for it than me."

He tossed a small object to Sheena, who caught it.

"Hey! I was wondering where I'd put the Diamond! Thanks, Zelos!"

"Don't mention it. Now, Colette, Lloyd, what have you been doing with your house recently? Last I knew, you had curtains, a carpet, a bed, a table, and not much else."

"We have a big chair now! It's really soft!"

"Nice. I've been fighting monsters and helping people who want to go somewhere, but aren't good at fighting."

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Let me guess – most of the people you help are women."

"No, I'm mostly over that. Now that no one's really depending on me, I'm not as into my hunnies as I used to be."

"What about that one today?"

"She doesn't get it that I don't want her anymore. She's getting kind of desperate."

"Somehow, I don't believe you."

"Really! The only reason I acted happy was that all of Tethe'alla depended on me."

"…You call that acting happy?"

"Yeah. It took my mind off of everything bad that had happened in my life."

"Why don't we play a game?" Colette asked, changing the subject. "Let's play Scrabble."

Colette and Lloyd were on one team, Sheena and Zelos on the other. After the first game, it was girls against guys. That was more of an even match, even though it was mostly Sheena and Lloyd yelling at each other and Sheena and Zelos putting down the tiles. Sometimes Zelos would join in the arguing, and once Colette tried, but she was too sweet to yell purposefully, so she stopped.

Finally, "Hah! Zen, Z-E-N! There's nowhere else to put a word, we've made all the plurals we can, and the girls are triumphant!"

Zelos smiled.

"What? Why are you smiling like that?"

"Sheena, sweetie, think of what word ends in 'zen.'"

"Uh… Nothing that can be played. Colette, can you think of anything?"

"No."

Zelos just smiled and put down an F, and R, and an O. "You see, you forgot to factor in the four blocks of space and the letters that hadn't been exhausted."

Sheena knew that that couldn't be right, so she looked at the side of the board. There were two Fs in the game. She counted the ones on the board. Fact and Defend. There were already two Fs.

"You cheater! You took a piece from another Scrabble game!"

"Wha? No one's ever complained before!"

Sheena took out her Vajra card and cut off some of Zelos' hair.

"My hair! You cut… How could you?"

"No one's ever complained before."

"How could… My hair!"

"D'you want me to cauterize it with my Card of Fire?"

"You… My hair! My beautiful, precious hair!"

"Next time, play by the rules, okay?"

"You… you…"

"Would you like me to glue it back on?"

"No! No touchie my hair!"

"Wow, you sound like a little kid. Here's your hair, okay? You can have it."

"You cut off my curly lock! I loved that lock! It always stood out!"

"Does woogums want his mommy?"

"Don't talk about my mother, Sheena!" Zelos looked her in the eye, protective and fierce.

"Jeesh! Touchy!"

"Shut up. If you knew about my mother, you wouldn't have said that."

"Okay. Sorry."

Long silence.

"So, I guess you two win, then, I mean, seeing as how I took some tiles from a different box."

"Yeah."

"What do you want for your prize?"

"I want to keep your hair."

"What!"

"You heard me. It'll grow back. Now, give it!"

Zelos glared at her, the way that friends do, and shoved the bright red, twirly chunk of hair at a demonically smiling Sheena, who took it. Then she took off her hair ribbon and tied the hair together. Her just-below-shoulder-length hair fell down and she fluffed it out. Then she put the hair into her bag and returned to the game, where she counted out the right number of each letter to play with.

Later, everyone went home, except for Zelos, who already was home. Sheena showed the bright red lock to some of the kids in Mizuho, telling them the story about the board game and the idiot. She hoped it would become a fable.

.-..-..-.

A few weeks later, Sheena went back to Meltokio. She saw Zelos again and ducked into a shop, but he had either seen her or was going there anyway, because he followed her in. She hid behind a shelf and kept her head down, but he still saw her.

"Hi, Sheena."

She ignored him.

"Why are you ignoring me?"

""

"You already took a chunk of my hair. What more do you want?"

"Respect, maybe?"

"I respect you! I respect that you're a woman, and that you're a good fighter, and –"

"But you don't respect that I'm different from most women."

"Yeah I do. You're a puzzle. With most women, you smile at them, say something nice, and they're yours. But you're more complicated than that."

"So now I'm only a puzzle to you? That's the only reason why you're interested in me?"

"You know, you're making it really obvious that you have a crush on me."

"I don't!"

"Trust me, I've done that before, when I was thirteen. I'd pretend not to be interested in her, then when I thought she wasn't interested in me, I'd get really mad."

"Why are we talking about this in a shop?"

"Because you chose to come in here to try to avoid me. Actually, Sheena, if you want to know the truth, I like you that way, too."

"I thought you liked your brain-dead hunnies."

"Nah, they're not really that interesting. They're all exactly the same. I never know what you're going to do next, which is what makes you great."

"Uh…"

"So, do you want to go over to my house to talk about this?"

"So now you're my psychologist all of a sudden?"

"Only if you want me to be. That's the first thing I learned about women: you never know when they're going to start getting screechy and violent."

"Not now. If I were, you'd be in pain right now."

"Okay. Have you seen Colette or Lloyd recently?"

"I remember they said something about going on a vacation to Flanoir. Lloyd wants to try something with Celsius' Tear, and Raine wants some, so they're going to go to the Ice Dungeon."

"Oh. Okay. Just wondering. Do you want to go now?"

"Sure." They started walking towards Zelos, house.

"So, how long did they say they're going to stay in Flanoir?"

"I dunno. Maybe a couple weeks. They want to do some other stuff, too. And Genis and Raine should be in Gaoraccia now, if they're on schedule, which they're probably not. Raine wants to study the Sorcerer's Ring. To her, that means also studying the different forms of mana it shoots out. Apparently, she thinks she can invent some kind of machine that can capture all of those types of mana and shoot out any kind any time you want. I think they were going to see Lloyd and Colette in Flanoir for a couple days, but I'm not sure."

"Apparently, no one tells me anything anymore." Zelos opened the door of his house for Sheena and they walked upstairs.

"We never told you anything before, either. We just didn't hide much from you. If we didn't want you to know anything, we definitely could have kept it from you. We just didn't choose to."

"I feel so loved."

"That's how all the girls felt about you. You never really thought about who we were. So we ignored you. That's the secret plan we had. The guys just chose to play along."

"You're mean!"

"Yeah, you figured that out before. Remember my real name?"

"Oh, yeah! Evil Screaming Banshee!"

"Yup. You know, however stupid you may be, you have a good memory."

"Thanks."

"So… what have you been doing since the journey ended?"

"Not much different than before. I made sure there wasn't anyone selling exspheres on my land, then I came back here to continue my normal life, which can never really be considered normal because it's so screwed up. And I help out as a guide sometimes."

"Oh. I've started working on a town where half-elves, elves, and humans can trade and stay together. I think what Martel really wanted was for people to all get along, so I'm trying to start that. Some of my friends from Mizuho are helping me."

"Cool. Is it just me, or is everyone else doing some sort of charity or half-elf –friendly thing?"

"Regal's back at Altamira. Lloyd and Colette just make figurines. Presea, it's kind of predictable because Ozette is where she grew up. Raine and Genis have just gone back to living in Iselia, and Genis helps tutor the other kids when they need help. Most of us also provide protection services, because we can. Every once-in-awhile, the Sylvarant people donate to rebuild Luin. So do I, because I was there, too. You guys never went to Luin, did you?"

"No."

"Well, it got destroyed, and there's a person called Pietro working to rebuild it."

"Oh. Cool."

"Yeah. It's actually not looking that bad anymore."

"That's good."

"Yeah, some of us got together to kill that dragon in the Earth Temple a couple dozen times, and since we get 10,000 gald each time we kill it, we were able to give Pietro enough gald in not-too-long."

"Nice."

"Yeah."

"You gonna let me talk now?"

"Oh. Hehe… Sure."

They started up the stairs and went into Zelos' room and sat on his bed.

"Remember why we came here?"

Sheena blushed. "Yeah."

"Yeah. My first crush, I was thirteen. One of the noble girls. She had blue eyes and red-brown hair, and she was really pretty. So, to keep from seeming like I liked her, I'd pretend I didn't care about her whenever she talked to me. Then she'd act the same way to me, and I'd get mad at her for ignoring me. And she'd run off to giggle with all her girl friends."

"Really, I don't have a crush on you."

"Sure you don't. But if you don't have a crush on me, why did you act like I did?"

"Because I thought I was slightly more significant to you. I mean, we went on a journey to save the world together."

"Sheena, I know you like me." His voice was gentle now.

"And I'm telling you, I don't!"

"I can see it in your eyes."

"You don't know how lame you –"

He pulled her down across his lap, one arm around her waist and one hand around her head. She shrieked for half a second. He stared down at her, and she stared up at him. She was so surprised that she forgot to be angry.

"You see, Sheena, everyone else was a lie. An elaborate charade to fool myself into being happy."

"You…"

"Yeah. I love you, Sheena."

Zelos pulled her head up to his and kissed her, gently. Sheena was stunned into silence.

"I knew you'd be disgusted if I ever told you how I felt. That you'd think I just wanted another hunny. But… this isn't something that just passes. I still feel for you when you're across the world from me. I've tried to get you out of my head, because it's so depressing. Then the last time we met, there was something in your voice… Colette heard it too."

"…And before that, at the wedding, when you held my hands too tightly for me to get away from you…"

"You honestly believed my hands usually get clammy when I dance? I was nervous about giving something away, Sheena."

Just then, they heard the front door bang open. They split apart as they heard the person running up the stars, two or three at a time. Then the person, a man, slammed into Zelos' room.

"Zelos! Look what I – oh! Who's the chick?"

"Back off, Colin. She's mine."

"No, I'm not!"

Zelos turned to Sheena. "Whose side are you on?"

"Mine!"

Colin interrupted them. "Haha! Z! Is this that Sheena chick you keep going on about?"

"Just shut up while you're ahead, Colin."

"Ooh! Getting defensive, are we?"

"_Shut up, Colin."_

"You must really like her!"

Just when Sheena was ready to give Colin paper cuts in places he had never imagined he'd get them, Zelos stood up and punched him. Colin staggered, but stood back up.

Sheena, seeing how stupid their argument was about to become, left the room. She went outside and sat in front of the house on the rail-type-thing next to the stairs, one foot on a step, one dangling. After about half a minute, Colin stormed out of Zelos' house and turned to Sheena.

"You…!"

…But he never finished his sentence.

After that, Zelos came out and sat down next to Sheena.

"Sorry about that."

Long, very awkward silence.

"I'm not yours, you know."

"Right. Like I'm not yours. I'd throw myself off the edge of the earth if it made you smile, but I'm in no way yours."

"Zelos, don't make fun of me! You know what I mean."

"Yeah… Do you want to go back inside? It's freezing out here."

"I kind of like it. It's peaceful. I love the color of the sky right before sunset."

Zelos hugged Sheena close to him, and they watched the sun go down over the buildings, watched the clouds turn pink, watched the moon rise.

Finally, it was night, illuminated only by a thin sliver of moon.

"Do you want to go inside now, Sheena? It's nice and warm, and it's too late for you to go back to Mizuho."

"Okay. As long as I stay in your spare room and you stay in your room."

"Of course."

He smiled, and she smiled, and they went inside. Zelos sat next to Sheena for a minute after she got into the bed, then went back to his own room.

In the morning, she yawned, stretched, and walked downstairs.

"Hey, Sheena! You're finally up!"

"I always said you were cheery enough –"

"Cheery enough in the morning to make assassination seem fun," he chorused with her. "Yeah, I know. Once you have your tea, though, you'll be fine." Zelos guided her to a table where there was a cup of Mizuho tea. Sebastian walked up to them.

"What would you like for breakfast, Miss Sheena?"

"Uh… I dunno. Tea's good."

"She wants ramen. She's just not awake yet."

"Very good, miss Sheena."

Sebastian apparently knew what Zelos wanted, so he walked away. Sheena drank her tea. It was good, and by the time her breakfast came, she was awake. She thanked Sebastian and started eating. Zelos had an omelet. They didn't talk much.

After breakfast was over, they went for a walk.

"Sheena? Last night… I'm sorry about Colin."

"Who is he?"

"Colin? He's one of my friends."

"Some friend."

"Yeah, well usually he's okay."

Silence.

"So you told him you like me."

"Yeah. He thinks it's just like all my other hunnies."

"I don't blame him. That's what I'd think."

"If…?"

"If what?"

"You said that's what you _would_ think, not that's what you think. Under which circumstances would you think that?"

"You're weird, Zelos, you know that?"

"Yes, I do. But I'd prefer if you wouldn't change the subject."

"Well, last night… if you wanted me as one of your hunnies, you wouldn't have treated me like that. And you wouldn't have been so protective… And you helped me piece it all together, so now I don't think you want me as a hunny."

"I'm glad you realize that."

"So… why do you think I'm such a puzzle?"

"Well, you aren't just a puzzle, you're also an adventure. I never know when you're going to get mad at me. You're different from anyone else because you… You're just different."

"You're starting to sound like Lloyd."

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about! You always say something original! …And you always know exactly what's going on."

"No, I don't. I never know what's going on… Like that thing with Kuchinawa? I didn't have a clue that that was happening."

"Well, usually you know. And another thing: you always act like yourself. All my hunnies are so conformant that they lose their personalities. But you… whenever I talk about my hunnies you get mad, and whenever I hit on you, you get mad, and whenever I hit on anyone, you get mad. You know I won't fight back against you, and you take full advantage of that."

"Nah, I just say what I think. I have a short temper."

"Heh. Whatever you say, Sheena."

"Really! I would never take advantage of anyone!"

"Not willingly."

"You're almost as stubborn as I am."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

"I… dunno."

"Well, anyways, do you want to stay with me?"

"No. I should go back to Mizuho."

"Okay. Come back soon, Sheena."

"I will!"

She went back home to her house, her tatami mat, her lock of Zelos' hair taken from him by her Vajra card. She lay on her mat for awhile, thinking about the night before, and what it had meant.

.-..-..-.

A few months later, after several dates with Zelos, he sent her a letter. It said, _Lloyd and Colette are home. I'm arranging for everyone else to come to my house and we'll have a big party._

_-Zelos_

She walked to Meltokio, fighting the few monsters she came across, and finally endin up at Zelos' door. She opened the door without knocking and shut it quietly. Only Regal wasn't there yet.

"Hey, everyone!"

She was greeted by several hellos.

"Colette! You're…?" She motioned to her stomach.

"Yes! I'm due in one and a half months. It's so exciting! Do you want to feel it?"

"Sure!" Sheena put her hand onto Colette's swollen belly and felt the baby inside kick.

"Wow! That kid is fierce! It should fit right in with Lloyd."

"Hey, Sheena!" Zelos walked up to her and kissed her, and she smiled. Then he turned to Colette. "Sheena and I are dating. She's finally come to her senses and realized how wonderful I am, so –"

"You sound just like your old self!"

"Heh. I guess I do. But you know I'm not."

Presea's soft voice interrupted them. "I thought you hated Zelos."

"Not anymore. See, I got a crush on him, and I found out he had a huge crush on me, and we figured we might as well try to do something together. So we started going out, and things just went on from there."

"Oh." Presea glanced at Genis, who she still felt sorry for, then Regal came in.

"I'm sorry I'm late. Something came up at Altamira, and I was delayed."

Zelos, as always, was enthusiastic. "It's okay! You're here now, so that's cool!"

"Did anything important happen yet?"

"Nah. You're not that late. Sheena just got here a little bit ago. Plus, we were waiting for everyone."

"That's good. What are we going to do?"

"I dunno. I thought we'd all just hang out, maybe play some cards, catch up on everything that's happened…"

"A reunion, then."

"Yeah. Now that everyone's back from everything they were doing, why not?"

They spent that afternoon, and a good amount of that night, playing cards and talking and joking. Then everyone went to bed, on the floor or the couches, or in one of the bedrooms. In the morning, they were all happy (Sheena after she had her tea) except for Colette, who felt extremely sick. She and Lloyd went back to their house until the afternoon, but when they heard that everyone was still at Zelos' house, they went back.

They all went home that day. Sheena stayed a little later, though, because Zelos said he had something special to give her.

After the last person had left, he reached into the pocket in his tailcoat and pulled out a golden ring with a Z and an S in it.

"It's an old style, I know. Kratos suggested it. But… do you…"

"Of course!" She flung her arms around the man she had come to love. He hugged her back, then they separated and he slid the ring onto her finger. Sheena hugged him again.

.-..-..-.

"No, remember? The knot goes like this, not like that."

"Oh. Yes. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I mean, it's been almost a year."

"Yes."

"By the way, you look great with your hair up like that."

"You said that while you were doing it, too."

"Hehe… Now I know how you felt, Colette."

"What? Oh, yes. Isn't it exciting?"

"Yeah… If someone had told me a year ago that I was going to marry Zelos, I would have sliced them through the head. But now, it's… real!"

"I know." They both knew that they couldn't describe that feeling, but they both knew what it was.

A soft voice cut through her thoughts. "There. Is this good?"

Sheena stared behind herself at the mirror. "Yeah. I dunno what I'd do without you, Presea. You're amazing."

"Thank you."

This time, Sheena had done proper Mizuho makeup, since they were getting married in Mizuho. Her face was white, her eyebrows appeared blotchy, she had painted small, red lips onto her face, and she had only the slightest amount of blush on her cheeks. Her hair had sticky wax in it to hold the loops that had been made.

"Wow. I look like a geisha!"

"A what?"

"Geisha are artists. Everything they do is graceful and… Well, I could never match them. But they're really beautiful. You know those actresses who model for those posters that are all over Meltokio?"

"Yeah?"

"Imagine them in this makeup, being about a hundred times as graceful as I am, walking in six-inch-high shoes… For special occasions, sometimes even higher."

"Wow… I'd fall down."

"You fall down anyway."

"Exactly!"

Sheena stepped into her six-inch-high shoes that she kept for special occasions and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked beautiful in a way that none of her female friends understood. But she did, and Zelos, being the cultured aristocrat that he was, would understand, too. Regal would, also. It was beauty in the eyes of Mizuho, the pale, original look that no one anywhere else in the world mimicked.

Finally, it was time for the wedding. She walked down the aisle of the Meltokio Church of Martel with the Chief of her village. She jingled slightly, because she was wearing Corinne's bell around her neck. It was on a red ribbon. She walked with her Grandfather and felt nervous and confidant at the same time. She didn't know how that worked.

All through the ceremony, Zelos beamed at her, and she smiled at him. Near the end, she started worrying that her makeup would smear when they kissed, but it didn't, and the whole thing went smoothly.

At the reception, she danced with her friends, and some of the nobles, but mostly with Zelos, and always with him for the slow dances. He seemed to do the same thing. They talked with their friends, laughed about parts of it that they couldn't have before, and Raine and Regal talked about her recent research. Presea gave some strange looks to Genis – almost _scared –_ but when Sheena asked her about it, she acted like everything was normal.

She spent the night at Zelos' house, where she had to wash her face at least ten times to get all of her makeup off, and she washed her hair three times to get the wax out. Zelos helped her take off her outer layer of clothing, which she would never be able to take off without damaging her obi, but then he left the room. Sheena knew that he respected her and that he really wasn't the same Zelos as before.

Colette's baby was due in three weeks. She had wanted to help plan Sheena's wedding, but most days she felt sick until the afternoon, so she couldn't. Zelos and Regal had told her which nobles they had to invite for the sake of "alliances," and most of the rest of the people who came were Sheena's friends from Mizuho. Colin, the man who had made fun of her five months ago, hadn't come.

So she now lived in Zelos' house, in the rich district of Meltokio, instead of in Mizuho. As she cuddled next to Zelos that night, she asked him, "Today, my makeup… what did you think of it?"

"It was… well, I don't think I'm the right person to judge it. I mean, it's Mizuho makeup, right? I've lived in Meltokio my entire life."

"I'm not asking how good it was. I'm asking what you think of it."

"I think it looked good on you. Maybe it's just because I love looking at you, but I think it looked fine."

"Good. I didn't want you to hate my makeup on our wedding day."

"Makeup comes off. Even if you'd painted yourself orange and green, it's what happened today that counts, not how you looked. There's no way to capture how you looked."

"…And what about my hair? Did you like my hair?"

"When did you start caring about these things?"

"Well, the thing is, Mizuho makeup is an exacting art, and the hair… there was so much wax in it, it was almost like clay. It was a sculpture, of sorts. I like to know when my art looks good, and when it looks bad."

"It looked wonderful."

"I could do it on you sometime. Just wait – you'll wake up one morning, and all your hair will be spiked in weird patterns."

"I thought you loved me!"

"Not on an important day… Plus, you wash your hair every morning. You'd only have to wash it two more times."

"The stupid things girls do for beauty…"

"Guys do stupid things too. Like run until they're wet all over, and lift heavy stuff repeatedly, and… well, all sorts of stuff."

"Yeah, but you won't ever see a guy wearing a corset. Or a dress."

"So you agree that dresses, in the Meltokio fashion, are stupid?"

"Yeah. They're so complex, and they have about a million layers."

"They're complex because the details are what make them pretty. Like, if I tied a bow on my obi like I do with my sash every morning, it would look stupid. But instead I had Presea tie the special knot used for obis on special occasions, which makes it look more interesting and complex. Guy clothes do that too. You just don't notice because you're used to wearing them."

"Mmh."

"Exactly." She hugged him and he hugged her and she fell asleep.

-notes-

Sorry it took so long! I was gone for two weeks (hooray for the coast!) and I didn't even have a computer to write on, but now it's done. I wonder who I'll do for the next chapter?

We played Apples to Apples on vacation. My sister's friend Adam got some of the funniest green (verb) cards, probably because he didn't know anyone in my family very well except for my sister, so he had fewer green cards. I wrote them down:

Night 1:Courageous, Masculine, Sensual (from me with The Metric System, because once my sister's friend played it for Sexy, so I find it "pleasing" for sensual), Addictive, Silly, Wild

Night 2:Unforgettable, Fancy, Hot, Fragrant, Haunting, Irritating, Handsome, Calm

The "Hot" one also brings up vacation memories, because I started reading Fruits Basket (really good Manga series) and there's this guy called Kyo who's hot, like all manga guys should be, and there's this one part where he's wearing a sleeveless shirt, and his cousin Shigure (who my sister likes best) is like, "how can you go sleeveless in this weather?" and my sister was like, "Kyo doesn't get cold because he's so hot!" …And I burst out laughing. Shigure is… Zelos-ish, if you get my meaning. Like, Zelos in the game.


	4. Genis and Raine

Chapter 4: Genis and Raine

I think I'll try doing it from Genis' perspective. He's not as immature as most of the guys in my grade (who actually are mostly 13 years old now) so it should be easier.

-story-

"Genis! Wake up! We have to get going to stay on-schedule!"

"Raine, why do you have to punish _me_ because you spend forever looking at ruins?"

"Because you're my little brother."

"So that means I don't need to sleep!"

"No, it means you do what your big sister says or she drags you out of bed and onto the rheaird by your half-elven ear."

"Okay! I'm up! Where are we going today?"

He grabbed his clothes from next to his bed and dove under the covers to change them.

"Meltokio."

"The sewers, you mean? Didn't we do them last month? Did you lose your notes?"

"No, I have all my notes in a file that I gave to Regal. That's why we go to Altamira every month or so. Did you see Colette at Zelos and Sheena's wedding?"

"Oh… Okay." They didn't have to discuss what Raine was expecting.

Genis crawled out of his bed and over to his duffle bag, out of which he pulled level 10 hair gel. Raine had her own bottle. It was the only way to get his hair to spike like that. When he was done with that, he cooked breakfast and they flew to Meltokio.

-we now interrupt this storyline with a special Sheelos section-

Sheena and Zelos were walking through the streets of Meltokio. Suddenly, they heard an extremely muffled scream. They started running, Sheena a bit faster than Zelos, toward the scream, which seemed to be coming from the Middle District. On the big stairs that led to the Middle District from the Upper District, they met Lloyd.

"I'm so glad I found you two! Colette's having her baby! She's asking for you, Sheena. She needs your elemental stones!"

They ran to Lloyd and Colette's house, and Lloyd let Colette to their bedroom, where Colette was lying, helpless, on the bed. Sheena reached into her sash, where she kept her stones, and shoved the rings onto Colette's fingers. There was a knock at the front door, and apparently Zelos answered it because in a matter of seconds Raine ran into the room. Zelos and Genis were left outside. Lloyd soon joined them, having been shoved out by Raine.

-we now return to our story-

Genis flew with Raine to Meltokio, where they ran to Lloyd and Colette's house. Genis didn't know how, but Raine said that she knew that Colette was having her baby. When they got to their house, Zelos answered the door, and Raine ran to the bedroom. He and Zelos had a very feeble conversation going when Lloyd was pushed out of the bedroom by Sheena, probably on Raine's orders. What felt like hours later, Sheena came out of the bedroom, smiling. "It's a girl. She has Lloyd's eyes and Colette's hair, and she's the sweetest little thing you've ever seen."

Lloyd ran into the next room, but Zelos and Genis just walked. Genis smiled when he saw her. Colette was smiling and hugging her baby. She gave her to Lloyd to hold, then he gave her back to Colette. Genis noticed that Colette was wearing an assortment of rings. They were the same ones that Sheena had gotten from summoning.

"What are you going to name her?" Sheena asked.

"I don't know. What do you think, Lloyd?"

"How about Anna? That's a good name."

"Okay. Her name's Anna."

Raine left the room. She returned just a few minutes later with Kratos. "This… is Anna?"

"Yes," Colette answered, "Isn't she sweet?"

Kratos smiled. "Just like the first Anna…"

"Yeah. Kratos, what color was Anna's hair?"

"It was golden-blonde. I think her gold and my red sort of… canceled each other out. It was… just lighter than that Anna's hair."

"Oh. That's good, then."

There was a silence then.

"I made this for… Anna. It's an angel charm."

"It's beautiful!"

Colette put the little bracelet around Anna's wrist. Then Genis remembered.

"Oh! A couple weeks ago, we visited Gaoraccia , and we stayed in Ozette. Presea said to give this to you. It's one of her octagonal turtle charms, made of Linkite wood."

"Oh! It's really pretty! I'll have to thank her soon." Colette tied the ribbon around Anna's neck.

After all of that stuff was over, they left and went to Altamira to tell Regal. He was in a meeting, but they said that it was an emergency. When they told him, he got on his rheaird and flew to Meltokio. They flew to Ozette to tell Presea, who just smiled and said, "I wish her well." She asked a couple questions, like how Colette was doing, what Anna looked like, and what Anna's personality was like, but she wasn't in any hurry to see someone who would be around for a long time.

Kratos had said that he'd go to Dirk's house, Iselia, and the Triet Renegade base, but Genis and Raine still went to the Flanoir Renegade base to ask if Yuan was there. He wasn't, so they figured that Kratos would handle it. Then they went back to Meltokio and spent the night at Zelos' house.

-author's note-

I'm going to start saying when there's an author's note now. Sorry this chapter took so long. First I went on vacation for 2 weeks, then school started. I'm going to a family reunion today, so don't expect anything for at least 4 days.

I read Fruits Basket now. It's this manga series. It's really good.


End file.
